[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4427]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE TOM LANTOS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 14, 2008

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today 
to honor the memory of the late Congressman Tom Lantos and his devotion 
to battling genocide and aiding its victims. We have not only lost a 
wonderful friend but an individual who, during his lifetime, made 
countless contributions toward the betterment of our Nation, and 
indeed, the world.
  At the age of 16, Tom was taken by the Nazis as they stormed through 
Budapest in 1944. After two escapes from the Nazi work camps, he found 
refuge in a safe house and began working to help other Jews in hiding 
by gathering food and supplies.
  Upon moving to the United States in 1947, Tom Lantos served in 
various capacities as an educator, consultant and political advisor to 
several Senators. In 1983, only 2 years after being elected to 
Congress, Congressman Lantos helped to found the Congressional Human 
Rights Caucus. During his final year of service to the House of 
Representatives, he served as the distinguished chairman of the Foreign 
Affairs Committee.
  Chairman Lantos represented California's 12th Congressional District 
for 27 years in the House of Representatives and will be remembered as 
a champion of human rights.
  We are privileged to have known and worked with such a passionate and 
loyal individual. Chairman Lantos will be greatly missed and always 
remembered. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
remembering a dedicated public servant.
  He will be deeply missed by his family--his wife, Annette, their two 
daughters, Annette and Katrina, 17 grandchildren and two great-
grandchildren--as well as the countless friends he leaves behind. Our 
thoughts and prayers are with them all at this difficult time.

                          ____________________